


cause, I built a home for you (for me)

by MoonCacti



Series: we'll find each other's arms [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 18:21:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14836817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonCacti/pseuds/MoonCacti
Summary: These days the only villains they were battling were the small inconveniences of life.Alternatively, the one where Robin falls victim to the common cold; doesn't like the taste of cough syrup and is kind of adorable about it.





	cause, I built a home for you (for me)

They buy a car the week they move in.

It's a bug.

It's not yellow.

Alice is the one to notice the car outside the grocery shop with a "for sale" sign when she’s walking to the station to meet Robin and her Papa.

She thinks that it’s the perfect fit for them.

The owner is selling for a suspiciously low price, and they get why when it stops working about 15 minutes after they just bought it. It stays in the car shop for two weeks, but then it's perfect.

They need the car to go to and from work; while living near the woods on the outskirts of town is peaceful and nice and all, it also means a half an hour commute every day. That's why Alice and Robin try to always match their shifts schedule, so it's easier since Alice doesn't drive.

They leave together in the morning, Alice gets out at Granny's and then Robin makes her way to the station, picking Alice in the afternoon when they’re both done with work, and then making their way back home.

So, that's why it is so strange to Alice to find her Papa outside Granny’s one day, in the place Robin usually parks the car.

She is immediately worried. There's no reason Robin wouldn't be there unless something happened at work. Her Papa must see the panic on her face because the first thing out of his mouth is:

"Starfish, she is alright."

But instead, that has the opposite effect because it must certainly mean that something is wrong.

"Papa, where's is Robin? What happened? Is she hurt? Is sh-"

"Starfish calm down. I sent her home earlier today. She looked like she was a bit under the weather. So I told her to go. She said she would text you."

"Oh,” Alice says, relief flooding her for only a second before she’s worried again, Robin looked alright when they left home this morning.  

Her papa said that Robin told him she would text her, but the thing is, Alice is not the biggest fan of smartphones, having one only so she can be reached in case of emergencies, which would be if she ever even bothered to check it every once in a while. She just forgets that perhaps she was supposed to.

Sure enough, when she finally finds the damn thing in her jacket pocket and unlocks it, there's a text from a couple of hours ago.

**Nobin:**  
_Your dad sent me home early, love._  
_He said will pick you up later.  
_ _I will see you at home, love you <3_

Alice feels incredibly guilty. Had she checked her phone before now she could've convinced Granny to let her leave earlier too so she could take care of her fiancée. Even if Robin forgot to mention that she wasn't feeling well in her text.

She calls Robin phone to check in and see if she is okay but it goes straight to the voicemail.

"Did Robin tell you what she was feeling?"

“She kept saying that she was fine when I asked. But she was coughing up her lungs out and I could see she was shivering too. She actually didn’t want to go home; when I ordered her to go she wanted to come here to wait for you, but I told her I would drive you home today.”

"But-“

“It’s probably just a cold, sweetheart. She’ll be fine.”

"Are you sure, papa? What if-?"

"How about we get you home so you can see for yourself, huh, love? Before you work up too many ideas in this head of yours, aye?" Killian could see how concerned she was, how she kept worrying her lip between her teeth.

"Can we stop at the drugstore first, Papa? I don't think we have any cold medicine at home."

"Sure thing, Starfish. Let's go."

***

Alice buys half of the drugstore stock of cold medicine and asks the poor man behind the counter an awful lot of questions about each medicine that he presents her. She doesn't know what Robin is actually feeling and when she called again it still went unanswered.

They get home faster than usual, Alice keeps bugging Killian to go faster, her worry nagging. (Starfish, I'm the law enforcement in this town, I shouldn't be the one breaking the law). Yet, they still go just a bit above the speed limit nonetheless; Killian still is a pirate after all (eh, kind off? It’s complicated)

***

The house is dark when they finally get there.

"Robin?" There's no answer and Alice's worry skyrockets.

She sets her bags down, all 4 of them, on the coffee table in the living room while she’s on her way to check on their bedroom first. Her heart skips a beat when she turns on the lights and finds a slump on the bed under all the blankets they owned apparently.

Robin is curled in a ball I'm the middle of their bed, her head barely sticking out from the mountain of blankets she is under.

She's soundly asleep, but it isn't even five in the afternoon and Alice debates if she should wake her up, deciding, in the end, to leave her be for just a few more minutes.

Alice comes out of the room to pick up the bags from the drugstore starting to sort through it, remembering what the pharmacist told her was best for each symptom; she briefly touched Robin's forehead before leaving the room and she was certainly burning up. She finds her Papa at the kitchen, messing with something on the stove.

"How is she, Starfish?"

Killian looks over his shoulder when he hears her coming in. Alice can see he is cooking something.

"She's asleep; I didn't want to wake her up just yet.” She pauses, thinking for a bit before continuing. “Papa, she is burning up. Don’t you think that perhaps it would be best to take her to the hospital?"

"Let's see how she is when she wakes up first, love." He turns off the stove and grabs a plate from the above cabinet. "Shall we?"

"What’s that?" She points to the pot on top of the stove

"I heated up some soup for her; if she's going to take that medicine she should do it with a full stomach.”

“Oh." She didn't think about that before. Alice chews on her lower lip, lost in her own thoughts. What if she couldn't take care of Robin and even made it worse somehow? She's never taken care of someone that was ill before. And Robin was obviously not okay. What if-

"Starfish." Her Papa places a comforting hand down on her shoulder, squeezing gently and somehow managing to bring her out of her downward spiral. It’s like he can see the thoughts swirling around her head.

"She's is going to be fine, alright?" He keeps going, searching at her eyes, looking confident and caring, making her feel so grateful that he was there with her.

Alice lunges herself at her Papa, throwing her arms around his waist and he gently settles one hand on her back; the other one (his good hand) coming to her head to softly comb through her hair.

"Tell me what you are thinking, love."

"I never had to take care of anyone before. Not like this. What if I do something wrong and she ends up worse, Papa?" Her voice was muffled from where she had buried her head in the crook of his neck.

"There's nothing you can do wrong, love. Just go give her the soup; ask what is it she’s feeling. You bought medicine for every possible symptom she may have." He sounded half amused at that. "Then just be there for her, okay. Oh, and call me if you need anything else, alright?"

She takes a step back displacing his hand from her hair; like this, she could look at him and he could see the doubt in her eyes.

"Aren’t you going to stay?"

"You got this, Starfish." He winks at her. "Robin is going to be alright, love. You both will." And with a kiss on her forehead and another reminder to call him later he was gone and Alice was alone inside the kitchen.

Alice takes a big breath, looks at the plate of steaming soup and moves to grab a tray, a spoon, and some napkins. 

"You got this, Alice. Robin is going to be alright. Everything will be fine; just do as Papa said." And with a final nod to herself, she carefully makes her way to the bedroom.

Robin was still sleeping in the same position as before; Alice only now noticing the sweat building on her forehead and hairline.

She sets the tray down on the foot of the bed and sits beside Robin, moving some of the blankets away from her face, one hand coming to push some of Robin's hair from her forehead and becoming aware of how hot she still was.

"Robin." She calls softly, the lump on the bed not even moving a little bit. "Love, wake up.” She tries again a bit louder." She can see Robin’s eyes moving under the lids but she still doesn’t open her eyes or say something. "Come on, Robin. I brought you some food." And yeah, that does the trick.

Robin slowly opens one eye to look at Alice, blinking a bit before opening the other.

"Hi there, Nobin." She moves to kiss Robin’s forehead. "How you're feeling, love?"

"Alice?" Robin’s voice sounds incredibly hoarse, scratchy; seeming like it was hurting her just to speak, and Alice remembers that she forgot to bring a glass of water.

"I'm fine. Your dad was just exaggerating when he insisted I came home earlier." The more she keeps talking the worse she sounds and Alice archers a brow at her.

"I see." She can't help but sound a little amused at Robin pretending that nothing was wrong while obviously being somewhat ill. And maybe she was a little relieved too; she thought that when she came to wake up Robin she would be a lot worse.

"Riiight. So you don't want the food?" She knows what the answer will be before her fiancée even opens her mouth.

"I didn't say that."

"Okay, so why don't you sit up while I get the tray?

Robin turns from her side and scoots up on the bed, bracing her arms on the mattress to lift her torso up. Alice watches her carefully, noticing how her face briefly changes into one of pain before becoming neutral again.

She finally manages to sit up somehow comfortably, Alice barely resisting the urge to help her, knowing how stubborn Robin could be. She carefully sets the tray on top of her lap. "I can feed you spoonfuls of food if you want. I will even make the airplanes noises, how about that?" Alice teases cheekily.

Robin moves to grab the spoon from Alice's hand before she can make good on her promise, the corner of her mouth lifting up in the smallest of smiles. Alice counts that as a win. Even if Robin sounds like a grouchy old man when she speaks next.

"I can feed myself, thank you very much." Yeah, stubborn as a mule.

Alice watches Robin take a few spoons of soup to her mouth, none of them saying anything. After a while, Alice grows a little restless, her initial worries coming back again. Robin’s movements are slow and not as gracious as usual; she looks so tired even though she had just woken up.

"Now, I know you like to be tough," Alice states carefully. “But I do have eyes that can see that you are not as fine as you say. So, you can either tell me what you are feeling already so I can go grab the medicine I bought for you, or I can start guessing."

Robin really, really wants to protest to that, but one look at Alice and she can see how worried her fiancée is under her resigned face, one hand unconsciously fiddling with the ring on the other.

Robin took a deep breath, looking down at her half eaten plate of soup.

"Fine." Alice doesn’t think she could ever sound grumpier than now. "My throat aches. And my head aches. My body is also aching too." She states slowly, Alice looking expectantly at her. “I was coughing a lot earlier too."

Alice smiles faintly and moves from where she’s sitting to kiss Robin on the forehead again. "You also have a fever, love." Robin just huffs grumpily at that making Alice’s smile widen just a tiny little bit.

"I'll go get you some water and the medicine I bought. And then we're going to take a shower. The guy at the drug store said you should stay hydrated and that a..." She stops speaking at the smug look on Robin's face. "What is it?" She asks but she is a hundred percent sure that she knows what is coming.

"We are taking a shower together." Robin wiggles her brows.

Alice moves closer to Robin's face. "You really are not looking that seductive right now. Nobin." And with a peck on Robin's cheek, she is gone from the room, giggling at herself at the look on Robin's face when she leaves.

***

Robin is a thousand times grouchier when she was ill, Alice finds out.

She took the tablet that was supposed to improve her aching body alright. But then she (loudly) complained about the taste of the syrup that was supposed to make her throat feel better and stop her coughing fits. Alice kindly got her another cup of water so she could rid her mouth of the taste of yuck (her own words). But then she flat out refused to take the fever medicine, saying it was even worse than the syrup, and really, she was already feeling a lot better. Alice bribed her with a chocolate bar.

And then came the time to take the shower. Robin complained first about having to take off her clothes, and then she grumbled all the while they took the five steps they needed to walk inside the en-suite.

The pharmacist said if the fever was really bad the shower had to be cold, to be able to bring down the body temperature. But Robin was already shivering and Alice could imagine her outrageous claims at being thrust under cold water when she was already feeling so cold herself. But more than that, Alice didn't have the heart to do that. She settled for the warm water.

Robin’s hair is matted at her head, clinging to her forehead because of the sweat, and her body feels clammy. Alice feels something gripping at her heart when Robin gets under the showerhead and immediately starts shivering even more. The water is probably feeling a lot colder than it actually was to her overheated body.

Alice quickly undresses too and gets behind Robin in the shower, rubbing her fiancée's arm up and down to try and make her feel better and a little warmer. After a couple of minutes, she finally stops shaking and Alice moves to get the shampoo and slowly massage Robin's scalp. She helps her rinse and repeats the process with the conditioner. All the while they don’t talk, a sort of comforting silence around them, Alice noticing how Robin doesn’t feel so hot anymore.

After their shower, Alice finds a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie for Robin to put on, and some boy's shorts and one of Robin oldest t-shirts for herself. Then she makes Robin sit down on the bed between her legs while she works the tangles on her hair with her fingers, putting it on a simple braid when she was done.

She can tell that Robin is feeling somewhat a little better, her voice is still hoarse, but it doesn't sound like it’s as painful as before when she tries to speak. Even her movements aren't as sluggish.

Alice moves Robin's braid to one shoulder to be able to set her chin on the other, breathing in the scent of a recently showered Robin.

"How are you feeling now, love?"

"Better." Robin takes a hold of Alice's hand and brings it to her lips to gently place a kiss on the back, her eyes on the ring resting on Alice’s finger. “Thank you.” She turns her head just a bit to be able to kiss Alice on the corner of her mouth, the angle a bit awkward.

"What do you want to do now?"

Robin sighs contently before answering. "I don't feel like sleeping anymore. What do you think about cuddling me on the couch while we what a movie?" She looks expectant.

"Of course, love."

But they don’t make any move to get up and disentangle from one another, Alice's arm moving down to hug Robin around her middle and bring her love closer to her body.

***

It’s later that night when Killian calls to check in on them. Alice is lying on her back on the couch; Robin sprawled on her front on top of Alice. It’s not uncomfortable. Robin has her head pillowed on Alice's chest, one arm somehow under Alice's body; she lost all feeling there a long while ago. Her other hand is grabbing at the material of the shirt Alice is using as a pajama, her arm in really weird angle to be able to do so; their tangled legs fitting as two parts of a puzzle under a blanket.

Alice can hear that Robin’s gentle snoring, her mouth open to be able to breath better with her stuffy nose. She fell asleep barely an hour into the Disney movie that they found playing in a random channel; Robin insisting that Alice would like this one. It's Mulan and Alice finds that she is actually enjoying it quite a lot.

The sudden noise of Alice’s phone ringing in the bedroom doesn’t even startle her, their peace undisturbed. Still, there's no way she is going to unsettle Robin from herself and get up to pick it. She tunes out the sound and after a minute or so it stops ringing.

Not even 30 seconds later Robin's phone starts to vibrate on top of the coffee table near the couch. Alice can see her Papa’s face on the screen and she manages to extend an arm to reach for the phone, moving as little as possible as not to perturb her love on top of her; her other hand keeping the soothing moves it was making on Robin's smooth back under her hoodie.

"Hello, Papa."

"Starfish?"

"It’s me. I left my phone in the other room, but Robin's was near." She speaks with her voice low, barely a whisper.

"It’s alright. I just wanted to check in on you girls. You didn't call me."

"I'm sorry, Papa.” She sounds sheepish “I got so distracted with Robin that I just forgot to call. Everything is alright, just like you said it would be."

"Aye. I'm glad to hear it, love. Look, tell Robin she doesn't need to come to the station tomorrow. And I will stop by with some lunch at noon, alright?"

"Alright. Thank you, Papa."

"It’s no trouble, Starfish. I love you."

"Love you too, Papa."

Alice sets the phone down and moves to look at the TV again; the movie is just about to end and she needs to remember to wake up Robin in a couple of hours to take her medicine again.

"What did Nook want?" Robin mumbles hoarsely at Alice from her place on Alice’s chest without opening her eyes.

Alice looks down at her love, watching Robin shift so she can support one arm against Alice's stomach and squirm down until she’s able to rest her chin on her open hand, finally looking up at Alice.

Alice's hand moves involuntarily to the lock of hair that had fallen down from the braid she'd made earlier. Curling and uncurling it around her finger.

"Sorry, love. I didn’t mean to wake you up. Papa wanted to check in on how you were doing. He also said you don't have to go work tomorrow and he'll be bringing lunch for us."

Robin frowned "I'm fine.” Says she with a nasal voice due to her stuffy nose.  “I don't have to miss work because of this stupid cold." She scoffs. So not a good idea. It immediately triggers a coughing fit. Alice moves her hand up  and down under Robin's hoodie to rub gently at the top of her back, trying to help.

Robin awkwardly moves the sleeping arm that was still under Alice to try and brace herself better on the couch, which works only for a moment before the feeling starts to return to her arm and she topples over Alice. As luck will have it, her head settles very comfortably (for Robin) on top of Alice's boobs, making the girl squeal in surprise while Robin wheezes. "Pins and needles! Pins and needles!"

Alice can't stop her laugh even if she actually tried to, and after a while even Robin joins in too, not moving her head from Alice's chest, her own laugh now only being interrupted by a cough or two every once in a while.

"We should go to bed, love." Alice manages to say after their laugh dies down for a bit.

"No, thank you. I’m very comfortable here." Robin says as stubbornly as a child, shaking her head on top of Alice’s boobs as if to prove her point and making her giggle. She moves one hand to find Alice's, lacing their fingers together, the other one moving up to gently cup her love's cheek. Alice's hand, despite everything, is still under Robin’s hoodie, going up and down with barely there moves and sending warmth through her whole body.

Neither woman is saying anything. They eventually move to look at the TV again, the movie has already ended, another cartoon that doesn't manage to hold their attention taking its place.

Alice isn’t sure who starts the conversation or even how they get to this topic, but now they’re having a whispered conversation about their soon-to-happen wedding. Robin already has a suit, though she won’t let Alice see it (it’s bad luck!) and Alice has plans with Zelena to go shopping for a dress sometime over the next week.

“Do you know what color you want?” One of the first things they agreed on was that white was boring.

“I’m trying not to plan too much. I want it to be an adventure, so when I find the perfect one it will be a surprise.”

Robin gently hums her concordance.

“I need new shoes to go with my new suit.”

“You mom said she would get them for you.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot that.”

They settle in a comfortable silence again; Alice finding the lock of hair on Robin’s forehead again and Robin playing with Alice’s fingers. They are looking at the TV, the cartoon parents playing a game with their cartoon children. Alice turns to look at the top of Robin’s head. Something playing on her mind.

“Did you ever think about having children?” Robin’s fingers stills for a beat before resuming their fiddling.

“Where did that come from?”

Alice shrugs, well as much as she could with Robin lying completely on top of her. Robin sighs, but Alice can’t figure out what’s on her mind. After a while she finally says something, Alice thought that perhaps she wouldn’t.

**“** I don’t know. I don’t think I ever gave it a serious thought.” But then she chuckles out of nowhere. “I’m imagining what having a small version of you around would be like. I think I would like that.” She lifts her head just enough to look at Alice, her eyes wrinkling with her smile.

Alice own smile is like an involuntary response to Robin’s.

“I think I’d like a small Robin too. Can you imagine how bratty that kid would be!”

“Hey!”

“Pff. Your mom told me all about what little you put her through.”

“Ugh. You have to stop ganging up on me with my mother.” Robin says as grouchily as she can, burying herself deeper on Alice's body if such thing is even possible." Secretly happy about it all, she loves the relationship Alice and Zelena have.

“Oh, stop it. You know I’ll always be on your side.”

"I know." Something in the tone of her voice shifts the moment, making it go from light to something more meaningful, deeper. Everything around them feels _in place_. And no more words are needed after that, and the faint sounds coming from the TV lulls them into a peaceful sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by my own cold and how awful some medicine tastes.


End file.
